


I'd Forgotten People Are Kind

by Lily_Star



Category: Moominvalley (Cartoon 2019), Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bugs & Insects, First Meetings, Invisible!Snufkin Au, M/M, Minor Injuries, Slow Burn, considering tagging this as slowburn oops, for good measure lmao, only there for the one chapter though, that's right babey it's a two for one special, they're wasps
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2020-03-05 15:01:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18831046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lily_Star/pseuds/Lily_Star
Summary: It's the first day of spring, one of Moomin's favourite days of the year because of how exciting the new year can be for everyone. For Moomin, it's the hope and wonder that he might finally meet his soulmate this year. However, Moomin starts this year off with tripping on someone he can't see.~*~*~*~It's a soulmate AU where the first words your soulmate says to you are on your arm. Title is from "Ready Now" By Dodie.





	1. There's Something in the Forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Title is from "There Is Something in the Forest" By Emilíana Torrini and The Colorist

Moomin has always loved the first day of spring. It’s like the moment winter is over everyone in Moomin Valley jumps with joy and fills the air with activity. Everyone wakes up from hibernation with such joy and hope for the new year as the birds who went south return from their winter vacations to celebrate with them. Spring was the season for excitement and new things too, well, spring up! Moomin found that it was never a dull season.

 

As Moomin woke up from hibernation slowly, sitting up and stretching his body out from about 3 months of staying still. He glanced over to his unstretched arm, the words ‘thank you’ written in green cursive across his forearm. Moomin loved starting his day off with a little bit of hope, knowing that one day he would meet them, his soulmate. It brought a smile to his face but it also brought an ache to his chest that he didn’t know them  _ now. _

 

Moomin decided to set those thoughts aside, jumping out of bed and looking outside to see the early morning sky. Moomin was already thinking about what he’d do after breakfast today. He thought about heading down to the beach with some of his friends, collecting seashells with Snorkmaiden and Sniff was something he loved to do. Maybe they could even make spring flower crowns to gift to one another!

 

However, that thought was cut short when Moomin caught sight of something out in the woods. In the distance, he could see smoke from a campfire rising from the forest. How odd, considering everyone in the valley had only just woken up. Perhaps this would be his first adventure of the year! Finding out who was there!

 

Moomin bounded down the steps, finding his parents already bustling about downstairs. 

 

“Ah, good morning Moomin,” Moominmamma greeted, “what’s got you in such a good mood?”

 

“I saw smoke coming out from the forest so I was going to go out and see who it was!” Moomin explained.

 

“Now, who would be out camping so soon after winter?’ Moominpappa asked.

 

“That’s what I’m going to go find out!”

 

“Well, don’t be too long, dear, I’ll have a nice big breakfast waiting for you,” Moominmamma promised, pressing her nose to Moomin’s forehead.

 

“Thank you, mamma! I’ll be back before you know it!”

 

“Don’t forget to be careful, Moomin,” Moominpappa warned.

 

“I won’t forget, pappa,” Moomin said as his father pressed his nose to his forehead too.

 

With that Moomin waved one last goodbye to his parents, heading out the door and following the smoke like one follows the north star.

 

**~*~*~*~**

 

When Moomin reaches the campsite the thing that surprises him is the fact that nobody is there, not even someone keeping the fire alive!

 

There is a beige tent set up and a pot of stew cooking over the fire so they must be nearby, but where? Wouldn’t the stew burn if no one was nearby?

 

Quietly, Moomin walks out into the campsite and towards the tent. Surely they were in there tending to something rather than leaving the fire and stew unattended to. However, on his way to the tent Moomin’s foot catches onto something that has him falling face first into the dirt. Turning around Moomin sees nothing but feels something instead. Something he can’t see is wriggling away from where his foot got caught, moving the foot off of itself and leaving a trail in the dirt. Moomin’s eyes widen with realization.

 

“Are you okay?! Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! I-I-I had no idea something was there I... “ Moomin’s voice trails off as he stares at the dirt where the trail stopped, “... why can’t I see you?”

 

No response comes, but there is a spot where the dirt bunches up, as the person has it in their grasp.

 

“Can you talk?”

 

The dirt around the figure shifts again and Moomin sees footsteps forming that lead to the trees at the edge of the clearing. Nervously, Moomin follows the footsteps, unsure if they want to be followed. The footsteps stop at the edge and Moomin hears a knock come off of one of the trees.

 

“Oh.. oh!” Moomin exclaims, “two knocks for yes, one knock for no, right?”

 

Two knocks are heard coming off the tree.

 

“O-Okay, umm… my name is Moomintroll, do you have a way to tell me your name?”

 

Only one knock.

 

“That’s okay! I’m sure we can figure out something later! I-if you want, of course!”

 

Moomin watches the footsteps walk back towards the pot over the fireplace and sees a wooden spoon rise in the air and spin the stew around, making sure it doesn’t burn.

 

“It smells delicious, do you fancy yourself as a cook?”

 

Moomin sees the wooden spoon hitting the side of the pot once.

 

“Shame, I’m sure you’d be really good at it,” Moomin says.

 

The unseen figure moves over to a backpack and pulls out two bowls, gesturing one of them towards Moomin.

 

“If you’re offering me some, I’ll only have a little bit. After all, I have a big post-hibernation breakfast waiting for me at home.”

 

The bowls float over to the pot and one of them is placed on the ground as the person picks up the spoon instead, poor just two large spoonfuls into the bowl before passing it to Moomin.

 

“Thank you!” Moomintroll exclaims, taking a seat on a nearby log.

 

Moomin watches as the second bowl gets a much larger serving poured into it and the figure moves to get sit on a log that’s across from where Moomin is sitting.

 

“Were you born invisible?” Moomin asks before taking a sip from the bowl.

 

Moomin hears the heel of a boot knocking on the person’s seat once.

 

“Is it a sickness then?” Moomin asks.

 

There’s a pause before two, slow knocks hit the log.

 

“Don’t really know?”

 

Two knocks.

 

“Do you know how to cure it?”

 

One knock.

 

Moomin mulls over this information for a while, taking another sip of the stew before a lightbulb seemingly turned on in his head.

 

“My mamma has a book that my grandma wrote about all kinds of illnesses! Maybe if we dropped by my house we could see if there’s a cure for invisibility in there! Would you like that?”

 

Moomin waits in anticipation as the figure takes their time to respond, bringing the bowl up to where their mouth probably is. After a long while, Moomin hears two knocks.

 

“Great! I don’t live too far from here so it won’t be a long walk! I promise we’ll do our best to help you!”

 

After that, the two sit in pure silence as each finishes their bowls of stew. The invisible person then begins to gather the bowls back up, drying them off with a cloth from their bag before packing it all away. They finish tidying up by putting a lid over the remainder of the stew and pouring a bucket of water over the remaining remnants of their fire.

 

“Do you need any help?” Moomin asks.

 

One tap comes from the side of the pot.

 

“Alright, when you’re ready to go just tap my arm,” Moomin explains holding out his arm.

 

Moomin watches as the figure stuffs their backpack and pot of leftover stew away into their tent, zipping it up securely, before coming over to tap Moomin’s arm.

 

“Okay, would you mind if I held onto your paw? It’d be far too easy to lose sight of you, especially if I already can’t see you!” Moomin chuckles a bit, holding his paw out.

 

Moomin feels something grip into his paw. As he starts leading the person to his house he takes note of how their paw feels. It’s not covered in fur like his paw is and it’s also about the same size as his own paw, maybe even smaller.

 

**~*~*~*~**

 

After a while, Moomin and the person reach the edge of the forest, Moominhouse finally within sight as the two walks onto the bridge. He can already smell the scent of fresh pancakes wafting from his home.

 

“We’re here!” Moomin announces to the person, walking them up onto the path, “trust me, we’ll have this situation sorted out in no time!”

 

Moomin opens the door with his free paw, still holding onto the person’s paw as they walked into the home.

 

“Mamma! Pappa! I’m home!” Moomin exclaims, closing the door after making sure the person is inside.

 

“Welcome back Moomin! I made your favourite!” Moominmamma yells from the kitchen.

 

Moomin leads the person over to the kitchen where his parents are already placing platefuls of food onto the table.

 

“Did you find out who was camping out there, son?” Moominpappa asks before taking a bite of his pancake.

 

“Yes, I did! They’re right here!” Moomin says with a cheeky smile on his face.

 

Moominmamma and Moominpappa stare at their son for a few moments, their eyes looking over to the seemingly empty space next to him.

 

“Moomintroll, there’s nobody there,” Moominmamma points out.

 

“Are you sure about that?” Moomin asks.

 

With that, the person stomps their foot on the ground a couple of times, making their presence known.

 

“Oh my!” Moominpappa exclaims, “it seems that we were mistaken! There is someone there!”

 

“Mamma, do you think we can find something in grandma’s book about invisibility?” Moomin asks.

 

“It’s worth a shot, I’ll go grab it while you get started on your breakfast.” Moominmamma turns to the empty spot next to Moomin, “feel free to help yourself to anything on the table, dear.”

 

As Moominmamma leaves the kitchen, Moomin pulls out two chairs at the table and sits down in one of them. When Moomin is pouring syrup onto his pancakes the chair next to him is pulled in. However, it seems as though the only thing the person is willing to take is a glass of water.

 

**~*~*~*~**

 

After everyone has finished with the post-hibernation breakfast the four gather up in the living room as Moominmamma opens up grandma’s book. She mumbles to herself as she flips through the pages, silently reading out the various pages before exclaiming a soft “aha!”

 

“A remedy for people who become misty and difficult to see!” Moominmamma reads out loud, “oh, it just says ‘listen!’ “

 

Moomin perks his ears up, listening for something. When nothing of interest hits his ears, he rests his head on the book to listen to it.

 

“I… don’t think books talk, dear,” Moominmamma says.

 

Moomin grows a little embarrassed as his parents softly giggle at him. However, through his embarrassment, he manages to hear a third set of giggles, almost quieter than air.

 

Moomin’s parents slow their giggles down too when they hear it. They look over to the seemingly empty spot next to Moomin as they can hear the person softly giggling as well.

 

“O-Oh! I can hear you!” Moomin exclaims, “can you talk yet?”

 

The giggling dies out as the person seemingly realizes they could be heard. A few moments of silence go by before a soft tap is heard from the coffee table.

 

“Oh… that’s okay! We’re getting closer, though!”

 

“Hmm… perhaps we’ll have to keep our ears open from now on…” Moominmamma suggests.

 

“Nonsense! We don’t even know what we’re listening for! I’m sure we can use our wits to think of something else!” Moominpappa says.

 

“In the meantime…” Moomin said, turning to face the person, “why don’t you stay with us? That way it’ll be easier to help you! Would you be willing to do that?”

 

After a moment of silence, there were two knocks on the table again.

 

“Great! I can help you with packing up your camp!”

 

**~*~*~*~**

 

On the way to the camp, Moomin continued asking the invisible person question after question, each time the person responding with yes or no taps on Moomin’s arm, holding paws simply as a precaution.

 

“Do you like travelling around all on your own?” Moomin asks.

 

Two taps.

 

“Doesn’t it get lonely?”

 

Only one tap.

 

“Gosh, I don’t think I could manage being all on my own like that.”

 

They continue walking in silence until they reach the campsite. The invisible person makes quick work of their tent and things, giving the pot of leftover stew to Moomin so he could carry it. Moomin watches as the person efficiently took down their tent and rolls it up neatly before tying it onto the top of their backpack.

 

“Are you ready to go?” Moomin asks, watching the backpack float up to the person’s shoulders.

 

Two claps.

 

“Alright, let’s get a move on then!” Moomin cheers.

 

Moomin starts walking and looking behind him, making sure that the seemingly hovering backpack is able to keep up with him. For a few moments the two walk in a comfortable silence yet again.

 

“Hey, do you have a long name?”

 

Two claps.

 

“How long? A clap for each letter.”

 

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven claps.

 

“Ah, that is a long name. I was hoping we could try going through the alphabet with each letter so I could know your name but that would take too long, huh?”

 

There was another long pause before Moomin got a sly smile on his face, a thought coming to his head.

 

“Well, unless of course, your name was just Aaaaaaa?!” Moomin says with a large smile.

 

Silence falls between them again for a few seconds before the sound of chuckling suddenly fills the air, and Moomin is surprised that it isn’t coming from him. Moomin watches as the backpack straps bounced up and down with the sound of giggling. Moomin finds that he can’t help waving his tail side to side happily.

 

“You’re laughing again!” Moomin cheers.

 

As Moomin says that, something begins to become much clearer as the person’s laughter dies down. Moomin stares as the colour green seemingly fades in from nowhere, revealing a relatively large, pointed hat.

 

“Oh! You’ve got a hat!” Moomin points out.

 

The hat slowly comes floating down from the supposed top of the person’s head and moves forward, the person possibly looking at it themself now. After a moment of stillness, the hat finds its way back to the person’s head and the duo continues walking. Moomin trying his best to fill the silence with yes or no questions.

 

When the two reach the end of the trees, Moominhouse in sight, Moomin feels a tap on his shoulder and turns to face just below the floating hat.

 

“Oh, do you need something?” Moomin asks.

 

Moomin watches as the backpack comes sliding off the person’s back and is dropped on the ground, a couple of feet away from the Moomin family’s mailbox.

 

“You want to stop here?”

 

Two claps are heard before the tent on top of the backpack is lifted up and shaken out before being laid out on the ground.

 

“Oh! You want to set your camp up out here! Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer staying in the house?”

 

Two claps.

 

“Well, in that case, I’ll help you set up!”

 

Moomin sets down the pot of cold stew and help the person set their tent up, despite the lack of effective communication. Moomin can only assume that the person not stepping in means that he doesn’t mind Moomin helping him with it.

 

After the tent is set up Moomin helps the invisible person set up a campfire, surrounding it with rocks and pebbles and filling it with dry wood.

 

By the time the two were finished the sun was slowly falling behind the distant mountains, giving the night time room to shine. Moomin picked up two rocks from the side of the stream and went back to the unlit campfire. As the flaps to the tent open up and a trail of footprints from the tent to the firepit Moomin tries to use the rocks to light the fire up.

 

“Ugh,” Moomin groaned to himself, “why does this never work?”

 

Then, out of the blue, Moomin feels a soft pressure on the back of his paws. In response, Moomin holds the rocks out which then promptly fly out of his grasp and begin clicking together on their own. As the perfect spark flies out and lands on the fire, lighting some twigs on fire, Moomin sees something else spark to life.

 

“Hey! I can see your clothes!” Moomin exclaims, pointing out the green, worn coat that matched the pointed hat and an equally worn out yellow scarf.

 

Moomin watches the front of the coat stretch out a bit like the person was examining their clothes, before falling back into a relaxed state.

 

“Do you have a name on your clothes?” Moomin asks.

 

One clap.

 

“Ah, what a shame.”

 

The two sit back and watched the fire flicker back and forth, or at the very least that’s what Moomin is doing. He couldn’t quite tell what way the other was looking, even with his hat. Moomin glanced back up to the sky.

 

“It’s getting late, are you sure you're okay with being out here all on your own?” Moomin says.

 

Two claps.

 

“O-Okay. Feel free to come to the house if you need anything,” Moomin offers as he stands up from his sitting position. “Have a good night.”

 

Moomin sees the hat tilt up and down, possibly a nod, before the whole outfit turns to retreat into the tent.

 

Moomin lets out a worried sigh before turning on his heel to walk to his own home. As he walks away he feels a slight discomfort in his arm, just near his soulmark. He rubs at it gently as he walks home, assuming it was simply from carrying around that pot of leftover stew.


	2. You Speak A Language Only Us Can Understand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moomin learns some new things at the beach. Some positive and some not so positive.  
> Title is from "Summer Days" by Tom Odell

When Moomin wakes up the next day he has only one thing on his agenda, to go see how the invisible traveller is doing. Moomin doesn’t give himself a lot of time to adjust to waking up and simply hops right out of bed, letting one big yawn escape from him. He doesn’t even remember to read over his arm as a good-luck charm and just goes straight out of his bedroom. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs Moomin is greeted by the smell of breakfast and his parents already downstairs, busying themselves with kitchen duties.

 

“Ah, good morning Moomintroll,” his mother greets, “you’re just in time for breakfast!”

 

“Thank you, mamma, it smells delicious, I’ll be right back to eat it after I check up on the invisible person,” Moomin explains, turning around to head for the front door.

 

However, just as Moomin is about to reach the door, he feels something tug at his tail that keeps him back.

 

“Now now, Moomin,” Moominpappa says, “it’s far too early in the morning to be waking anybody up, why don’t you wait until after breakfast to go see them?”

 

Moomin sighs defeatedly. He has no idea if the person is even awake yet and would be awfully embarrassed if he woke them up. Maybe spending some time eating a meal would give the person that extra bit of time to wake up.

 

“Okay, I’ll bite,” Moomin says as he walks over to the dining room where Moominmamma is already placing down plates of food.

 

The family sits around the table and eats their food peacefully, listening to Moominpappa talk about his latest story. Moomin has to hold himself back from eating his food too quickly just so he can go check up on the traveller already. Just as Moominpappa is about to reveal the twist of his latest tale, a loud knocking is heard from the door. Immediately Moomin pushes himself away from the table and jogs to the door.

 

“I’ll get it!” Moomin calls over his shoulder.

 

Moomin grabs the doorknob and swings the door open, revealing Snorkmaiden and Sniff.

 

“Hey Moomin!” Snorkmaiden greets.

 

“Oh, hey guys!” Moomin says happily, “what’s going on?”

 

“Well, we were wondering if you wanted to come down to the beach with us to welcome the new year!” Sniff explains, “we tried asking yesterday but your parents said you weren’t home.”

 

“Yeah, what were you up to yesterday?” Snorkmaiden asks.

 

“Ah, well, I met someone yesterday who was… interesting… to say the least,” Moomin explains.

 

“Oh,” Snorkmaiden says before her eyes widen, “OH! Was it your…?”

 

Snorkmaiden gestures to Moomin’s arm.

 

“What? OH! N-NO!” Moomin denies, waving his hands in dismissal, “no, no no! A different kind of interesting!”

 

“Ah…” Snorkmaiden sighs, a little disappointed.

 

“Well, then what kind of interesting?” Sniff asks.

 

“I can introduce you guys to them if you want,” Moomin offers.

 

“I hope so! You’ve certainly got me interested!” Sniff declares.

 

“Alright, let me just go help with kitchen clean-up!” Moomin says, gesturing for his friends to follow him inside.

 

“Ugh, don’t take to long, I might die from anticipation,” Snorkmaiden jokes.

 

Moomin quickly takes a few more bites of what’s left on his plate before cleaning off both his and his parents’ plates. After leaving the dishes in the drying rack and wiping down the dining table he bids his parents a brief farewell and leaves with his two friends in tow. As they approach the bridge Moomin stops them for a moment.

 

“Please try to not freak out when you see them, I don’t want to stress them out,” Moomin warns.

 

Both Sniff and Snorkmaiden nod with a face of suspense. The trio crosses the bridge and they approach the campsite. Once they reach the other side of the stream they can already see a floating outfit enjoying the leftover stew from the previous day. Sniff screams.

 

“AAAHHH! A GHOST!” Sniff exclaims, hiding behind Moomin and Snorkmaiden with his tail tucked between his legs.

 

The figure jumps at the sudden scream, dropping their bowl and standing up in shock, their coat flickering away.

 

“Sniff!” Moomin scolds, “that’s not a ghost! They’re just invisible!”

 

Sniff peaks out from behind his friends, glancing at the mysterious outfit. The coat is almost see-through as the figure seemingly has their arms crossed, either angrily or self-consciously. Snorkmaiden tries her best not to look too shocked at the sight but her mouth still hangs open.

 

“Hello again, I’m sorry about him,” Moomin greets, gesturing to Sniff who is now slowly coming out from behind Snorkmaiden and Moomin, “this is Sniff and that’s Snorkmaiden. We were going to head down to the beach today, would you like to join us?”

 

The figure seemingly grips onto their arms as they contemplate this, letting out a quiet sigh as their coat becomes solid again and claps their hands together twice.

 

“Oh, excellent!” Moomin cheers, clasping his hands together, “we’ll leave as soon as you’re ready to go!”

 

The figure’s hat nods. The person bends down to pick up the discarded bowl and wipe it clean with a rag before they pack it away and douse the fire under the pot. Sniff and Snorkmaiden watch in awe as the figure moves about while Moomin simply waits patiently. When the person finishes with it’s few chores it walks over to the trio of friends and stands in front of them.

 

“Are you ready now?” Moomin asks.

 

Two claps.

 

“Great! Let’s get a move on then!”

 

Moomin took charge in leading his friends down to the beach while Sniff and Snorkmaiden occasionally took subtle glances at the invisible person with them.

 

“So…” Snorkmaiden says, “what’s it like being invisible?”

 

The hat shows the person’s head turning to face Snorkmaiden but they say nothing.

 

“They can’t talk, you’ll have to ask yes or no questions,” Moomin explains.

 

“I’ll try, then!” Sniff declares. “What is your name?”

 

Moomin sighs. “That’s not yes or no, Sniff.”

 

“Oh, right.”

 

“So we don’t know their name?” Snorkmaiden asks.

 

“Not yet, I was hoping we could find a better way to communicate today, perhaps try writing letters,” Moomin explains.

 

The figure claps one time.

 

“No? Do you know how to write?”

 

Two claps.

 

“Then how come we can’t try writing, do you have a way to let us know?”

 

The figure pauses for a moment before pulling a blank piece of paper from their pocket.

 

“What’s that?” Snorkmaiden asks.

 

“It’s blank,” Moomin points out.

 

The figure then pulls a pencil from their pocket and attempts to write something down. Moomin, Sniff, and Snorkmaiden look over the person’s shoulder and watch as each letter they write vanishes before anyone can even tell what letter was being written. Moomin tries watching the pencil move to determine what they’re writing but can only make out the beginning ‘S’ before losing track.

 

“Oh no!” Sniff exclaims, “looks like your writing has gone ghost too!”

 

“Sniff, they’re not a ghost!” Moomin corrects.

 

“How do we know for sure?” Sniff asks, raising his eyebrow.

 

Moomin simply sighs. “Because they’re not a ghost, Sniff.”

 

“We’ll see about that,” Sniff says as he glances at the person from the corner of his eye. The person simply pockets their paper and pencil and continues walking down the path.

 

When they reach the beach they’re all hit with the cold breeze wafting in from the sea. Sniff reflexively grabs onto his arms as a shiver runs down his back.

 

“How do you expect us to be swimming in weather like this?” Sniff asks, “it’s far too soon after Winter!”

 

“I was hoping we could just hang out here and pick up some seashells. Nobody said we were going to be swimming,” Snorkmaiden explains. Her eyes then squint mischievously as she glares at Sniff. ”Unless, of course, you weren’t so scared of a little cold water. Maybe we should go for a dip?”

 

Sniff seemingly chokes on his own breath.

 

“No way, Snorkmaiden!” Sniff exclaims, “you couldn’t pay me all the money in the world to jump in that water! Lord knows it’s below freezing!”

 

“Aww, come on, Sniff” Moomin says with a sly smirk, “it can’t be that bad!”

 

“No way!” Sniff repeats, sharper this time and with an embarrassingly higher pitch.

 

The sound of chuckling cuts through the air as everyone looks over to the floating outfit, the coat’s shoulders bouncing up and down to the sound of the chuckling.

 

“You’ve got a laugh?” Snorkmaiden asks.

 

The person claps twice as their laughter dies down slowly.

 

“Well if you find it so funny then why don’t you jump into the water?” Sniff asks, his cheeks reddening with embarrassment.

 

The hat twists side to side, the person slowly shaking their head, as a single clap is heard.

 

“Well, if none of us are going for a swim then I suggest we jump straight to collecting seashells and things of the sort,” Snorkmaiden suggests.

 

“Oo! Do you think we’ll find some treasures!” Sniff exclaims, perking up excitedly.

 

“There’s only one way to find out!” Moomin says as he starts walking to the shoreline.

 

Moomin glances behind him to make sure his friends are following closely. As they all come walking towards him Moomin can’t help but notice the invisible person’s footsteps. They definitely looked like boot tracks. Moomin also couldn’t help but notice how one of the person’s feet dragged a little and left a much longer track compared to their other foot.

 

“Is your foot alright?” Moomin asks as Sniff and Snorkmaiden walk by the two, not noticing Moomin’s concern.

 

The person pauses for a moment before clapping their hands together twice.

 

“Are you sure?”

 

Two more claps.

 

“I-I’ll take your word for it but, please, tell me if you need anything, okay?”

 

The hat tilts up and down.

 

The two catch up to Snorkmaiden and Sniff at the shore where Snorkmaiden has already picked up two seashells and Sniff is occasionally digging into the shoreline looking for treasure, every so often backing away from the shoreline when the water’s tides get too close to him.

 

Moomin goes to join Snorkmaiden in picking up seashells, often getting distracted by glancing at the invisible person. The person seems to stand idly by, not engaging in looking for anything on the beach like everyone else is. They do, however, pick up a large stick washed ashore but don’t do much with it. Sniff seemingly enlists their help by dragging the person over to a spot farther on the beach to help dig up something.

 

“-oomintroll? Hey, Moomintroll!” Snorkmaiden says as she taps Moomin on the shoulder.

 

“Ah! S-sorry, what were you saying?” Moomin asks as he peels his gaze away from the person to look at Snorkmaiden.

 

“I was trying to show you this pretty shell I found,” Snorkmaiden explains as she gestures to the one in her paw, “but you seem a little… preoccupied. Are you really that worried about them?

 

Moomin sighs, taking a piece of driftwood and absentmindedly drawing circles into the sand.

 

“N-No, I’m not _worried._ I just think… there’s something wrong. Something they’re not letting us know. I just want to help them.”

 

“Of course you do, I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who worries about others than you do, Moomintroll. But maybe we should let them set the pace. If they need anything I’m sure they’ll let you know.”

 

“Yeah but what if that moment comes when they need help and I-we won’t be able to tell.”

 

“You two seem to have a fairly good system of communication. I'm sure everything will work out.”

 

“We’ll see about that…”

 

Silence falls between the two, the only sounds being the waves brushing up against the shore and the songs of birds in the distance. Moomin continues doodling in the sand with his seashell as he thinks it over. How could Snorkmaiden consider it a ‘fairly good system of communication’ when they could only ask the person yes or no questions? It certainly didn’t help with learning their name or anything about what happened to them!

 

Moomin catches a glimpse of the words on his arm as he continues making shapes in the sand. He looks up to see Snorkmaiden’s attention has fallen elsewhere, examining a shell she had just found. Moomin takes the opportunity to quickly draw a “thank you” into the sand, just like the words on his arm, warming his chest up at the thought of having a soulmate out there somewhere. One of the few constants in his life. As he reads over the words in the sand he feels like a brick falls on top of his head as a realization hits him. Moomin quickly wipes the words in the sand away and shoots up to his feet.

 

“YES! THAT’S IT!” Moomin exclaims, grabbing everyone’s attention.

 

Sniff and the invisible person glance at each other before running over to Moomin while Snorkmaiden stands up as well.

 

“What is it, Moomintroll?” Sniff asks.

 

Moomin excitedly looks over to the invisible person with a huge smile on his face.

 

“Do you think you could try writing your name in the sand?” Moomin asks them happily.

 

The person stands for a moment before nodding their head and getting a better grip the stick they were holding. Everyone follows as the person stands next to the shoreline and digs the stick into the sand. They watch the letter S gets carved and Moomin feels his tail wag when realizing that the S is _still there_ and didn’t magically vanish. Everyone watches as the second letter “N” is put down before an unwelcome tide comes rushing up to wash away the person’s work.

 

“S N…” Sniff says thoughtfully, “Oh, is your name Sniff too?”

 

One clap.

 

“Shame, it’s a nice name.”

 

Snorkmaiden rolls her eyes at Sniff.

 

“T-try again,” Moomin encourages, “just gotta be faster than the sea this time.”

 

They nod before carving their stick back into the sand. They write quicker and messier this time but they manage to get the letters down before the next wave.

 

_S. N. U. F. K. I. N._

 

“Snufkin! That’s your name! A-am I pronouncing it right? Snuff-Kin?” Moomin asks excitedly.

 

Two claps.

 

“Yay, we did it!” Moomin cheers.

 

“What an odd name,” Sniff comments, “is it a boy’s name or a girl’s name?”

 

“Perhaps neither?” Snorkmaiden adds, “what do you prefer?”

 

The person, Snufkin, waits until the next wave to wash ashore before hastily sketching ‘boy’ into the sand.

 

“Good to know!” Moomin says, “is there anything else we should know about you?”

 

The person thinks for a moment before shrugging their shoulders.

 

“There isn’t a whole lot to ask about now, huh?” Snorkmaiden points out, “unless we wanted Snufkin to write paragraphs in the sand.”

 

“Yeah, gotta ask questions with short answers,” Moomin says.

 

“Can you tell us where you’re from?” Sniff asks.

 

Snufkin waits a few moments before writing “everywhere.”

 

“Everywhere?” Snorkmaiden questions, “whatever do you mean by that?”

 

“You told me you liked travelling, are you referencing that?” Moomin asks.

 

Two claps.

 

“So you don’t have a home?” Sniff asks.

 

Two more claps.

 

“Sounds like quite the adventurous lifestyle,” Snorkmaiden says, “doesn’t it get lonely though?”

 

One clap.

 

“More of a lone wolf, huh?” Sniff says, “is that why you’ve gone see-through?”

 

Instead of clapping Snufkin takes their stick and prints “No idea” into the shore.

 

“I don’t think anyone here knows what causes invisibility,” Moomin sighs.

 

“Well, then I think we should try and find someone who does!” Snorkmaiden suggests.

 

“How do you think we do that?” Sniff asks.

 

“We can try asking around the valley? Maybe if we find someone who knows what causes it then they’ll know what cures it!” Moomin says.

 

“Alright, no time to lose, then!” Snorkmaiden says, “anything else you want to write before we leave the beach, Snufkin? You never know when we’ll find another writing spot.”

 

Snufkin claps once before dropping the stick onto the sand.

 

“Aw, but we haven’t found any treasures yet!” Sniff complains.

 

“Maybe next time, Sniff. Besides, I think I’ve gotten enough seashells for today,” Snorkmaiden says as she gestures to her arm full of shells.

 

“Yeah, same here,” Moomin says, twirling the shell he had been writing with in his paws.

 

“What about you, Snufkin?” Sniff asks, “don’t you want to take something with you?”

 

One clap.

 

“Suit yourself,” Snorkmaiden says, shrugging.

 

The group starts walking away from the beach, Moomin purposefully falling to the back of the pack so he can make sure the pers- _Snufkin_ is keeping up with everyone alright. Moomin glances back down to the footprints Snufkin leaves behind. One of his feet still left a longer footprint than the other one. Moomin knew better than to assume it was nothing, but he also knew he couldn’t do much about it. Snufkin had insisted that there was nothing wrong, meaning that he didn’t need, or simply didn’t want, help. As Moomin watched Snufkin’s footprints come to form he noticed that he could see his pants have become visible just like the rest of his clothes. That eased Moomin’s worries a little bit. At least Snufkin becoming more visible was a good sign.

 

Still, it didn’t stop Moomin from fretting about what he couldn’t see. The sooner they can get Snufkin back to his normal state the sooner Moomin can help with what he doesn’t even know is wrong yet.


	3. We're Moving Forwards Slowly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang asks around about people turning invisible.  
> Title from "Back to The Cave" by Colonel Suns.

The four make their way down the path back to Moomin valley as the songs of spring birds echo off the surrounding trees. The moments of silence between their many short conversations are filled with the sound of their footsteps and the wind rustling through the greenery.

 

“You talked to your parents about this, right? Did you check your grandma’s book?” Snorkmaiden asks.

 

“Yeah, the remedy in the book was really cryptic though,” Moomin explains.

 

“Well, what’d it say?” Sniff asks.

 

“Listen.”

 

Sniff puts a contemplating look on his face as he twists his ears left and right, listening for something.

 

“Listen for what?” Snorkmaiden asks.

 

“Doesn’t say,” Moomin sighs.

 

“Do  _ you _ know what we’re listening for?” Sniff asks, looking at the space under Snufkin’s hat.

 

Snufkin gives one clap in response.

 

“Could you try speaking again?” Snorkmaiden asks.

 

There’s a long moment of silence.

 

“I’m sure we can find a different remedy, one that makes more sense,” Moomin says, “at least that’s what pappa had offered.”

 

“So let’s go talk to your dad first then,” Snorkmaiden says, “maybe he’s figured something out!”

 

“It’s worth a shot!” Moomin says.

 

Just as Moomin’s sentence is finished everyone’s ears pick up the sounds of movement not too far off the path. They all look curiously over to where the noise is coming from.

 

“Hello?” Moomin calls out cautiously.

 

Sniff decides to slyly move behind everyone else, putting a barrier between him and the mystery noise. Snorkmaiden cautiously moves to stand with Sniff and glances over at Moomin with a silent  _ what is it? _ Moomin shrugs in response and looks back to the bushes. Moomin takes a step forward only to feel his chest softly bump into something. Moomin glances down and sees a green, worn coat sleeve blocking his path. Moomin looks over to Snufkin who simply puts his other sleeve closer to where his face could be and whispers a very,  _ very _ quiet  _ ‘shhh...’ _ Moomin obliges and takes a step backwards.

 

Snufkin moves towards the bushes and Moomin feels himself wanting to step in and pull Snufkin back from the noise. However, before Moomin can ever lift his foot up something propels itself from the bushes and shouts a loud “BOO!”

 

Sniff, Snorkmaiden, and Moomin all scream from the surprise, the three of them reflexively gripping onto each other. Snorkmaiden, unfortunately, drops her arm full of seashells. Snufkin panics and lands a fist on the thing’s large, white snout.

 

“Argh!” The figure exclaims, falling back onto his behind with the shock of having just been punched in the snout at full-force.

 

Moomin blinks his eyes as the surprise wears off on him and a sense of familiarity washes over him.

 

“Pappa?!” Moomin exclaims, running over to where his father had fallen down.

 

“Moominpappa!?” Snorkmaiden and Sniff shout simultaneously.

 

Snufkin’s sleeves reach up to his face with surprise, probably covering his mouth with his hands. Snufkin stays still as Moomin helps Moominpappa get his feet back on the ground.

 

“Are you okay, pappa?” Moomin asks.

 

“Yes, Moomin, I’m quite alright,” Moominpappa insists, rubbing the sore spot on his face, “I’ve got to say, though, your friend packs  _ quite  _ the punch.”

 

Everyone looks at Snufkin as he twists his head side-to-side before dropping down to his knees. His sleeve hovers over something being carved into the dirt.

 

_ S-O-R-R-Y _

 

“Sorry?” Moominpappa reads out loud before chuckling a little, “you have nothing to be sorry for! Fight or flight reflexes and all that happens to the best of us.”

 

“Why were you trying to scare us like that?” Snorkmaiden asks with crossed arms before bending over to pick up her seashells. Sniff jumps in to help collect them, too.

 

“Well, you see, I was thinking about whether or not your friend’s invisibility was like the hiccups and that I could scare it out of them!” Moominpappa explains before looking over to the empty outfit, “to be completely honest, though, not one of my most well-thought-out solutions.”

 

“Well, if it is like the hiccups, then maybe we could try having him drink some water upside-down?” Sniff suggests unironically.

 

“I don’t think it’s like the hiccups, Sniff,” Moomin sighs. He looks back over to his father, saying, “do you have any more solutions?”

 

“ ‘Fraid not, son. Scaring it out was my only idea so far,” Moominpappa explains.

 

“Shoot, we were hoping you would,” Moomin says, “do you have any idea about anyone else we could ask about this?”

 

“I don’t know what other people know, Moomin. You’ll just have to ask around and hope for the best,” Moominpappa says before comfortingly patting his son on the back, “that’ll have to wait until after lunch, though. Your mother sent me to bring you back home for it. She says your friends are invited as well if they wish.”

 

Snorkmaiden and Sniff look at each other and pump their fists happily, whispering a celebratory  _ “yes!”  _ to each other.

 

“Would you like some lunch, Snufkin?” Moomin asks.

 

Snufkin looks around at everyone else’s faces before slowly clapping his hands together twice. Moomin smiles at Snufkin fondly, happy he accepted to stay for lunch.

 

“Snufkin?” Moominpappa asks as he starts walking down the path, encouraging everyone else to follow him, “what a nice name.”

 

The group makes their way back to Moominhouse while they tell Moominpappa about their brief beach trip. Mostly mentioning what they learned about Snufkin and how his writing had gone invisible when he wrote on paper. They then keep making back and forth jokes about how Moominpappa would  _ probably _ drop dead if his writing couldn’t be seen. Moomin part way through decides to tease his father and talk about how maybe that wouldn’t be so bad. They all laugh as Moominpappa retaliates by ruffling the top of his son’s head and making fake, angry, curses about how he was going ground him. Moomin playfully swats his father’s hands away while tears of laughter form in his eyes.

 

Through all the commotion nobody notices Snufkin’s boots fade into the world, finally becoming visible. Snufkin’s eyes land on his feet and to his surprise he sees his own boots stepping out from under his coat. However, to Snufkin’s horror, the state of his one twisted foot was much,  _ much _ more noticeable, even the limp is more noticeable with both feet being visible. He’s caused people enough worry so far about his invisibility, they shouldn’t have to worry about his feet, too. As concerns about it fill up Snufkin’s mind he finds that he can suddenly no longer see his feet kicking out from under his coat, noticing that they’ve gone back to being invisible. Perhaps it was for the best, he’s sure that the foot would heal on its own anyway and he won’t have to worry about his boots being visible ever again.

 

Eventually, they all make it back to Moominhouse, catching sight of the Muskrat lounging in the hammock.

 

“Oh, Muskrat!” Moomin exclaims, running over to him as he stirs in his sleep as a response, “sorry to disturb you, can I ask you a question?”

 

“What is it you wanted to ask me?” Muskrat asks, flipping over to face Moomin.

 

“Do you know anything about people turning invisible?”

 

“No, but that sounds like a dream,” Muskrat says with melancholy dripping from his voice, “to not be seen or bothered by the world on our journey to becoming dust, sure would coming to terms with our insignificance easier.”

 

“Uh… right,” Moomin says awkwardly, trying to forget that information immediately to avoid future existential crises, “thank you anyways, Muskrat. You can go back to sleep now.”

 

“What’s the point? It doesn’t matter if I spend the time sleeping or awake. It’s still time I’ll never get back.”

 

Moomin decides to just walk back to the house where everyone else was probably already inside getting ready to eat lunch. However, Moomin is proven wrong when he hears a shrieking sound from inside the house. Moomin rushes in through the door to see what has gone wrong.

 

He surprisingly sees Mrs. Fillyjonk in his living room, her mouth covered by her hands as she looks at Snufkin with horror. Moomin can only assume that she had been visiting for a cup of tea with Moominmamma and shrieked at the sight of a  _ “ghost.” _

 

“Oh, how horrible!” Mrs. Fillyjonk exclaims.

 

“No need to worry about him, Mrs. Fillyjonk,” Moomin reassures as he walks over to stand comfortingly next to Snufkin. It probably didn’t feel nice to have people scream in terror at you all the time. “He’s just invisi-”

 

“Look how terrible your clothes are!” Mrs. Fillyjonk interrupts, pointing at Snufkin’s tattered coat, “you’re just COVERED in filth, young man! When was the last time you  _ bathed? _ ”

 

Snufkin just crosses his arms over his chest, either self-consciously or with frustration at being nagged. Moominmamma finally emerges from the kitchen, alarmed by Mrs. Fillyjonk’s shouting.

 

“Now now, Mrs. Fillyjonk,” Moominmamma soothes, “the poor boy hasn’t even been able to see himself for Groke knows how long, it’s probably been a while since he’s had to worry about such things.”

 

“Still! His clothes are visible  _ now, _ surely he must’ve noticed their poor condition!” Mrs. Fillyjonk complains.

 

Snufkin takes a moment to inspect his clothes. The edges of his clothes are littered with tears and scratches. He even notices a significantly large hole beneath his armpit that he had forgotten was there, now clearly larger in size than when he first found it.

 

“Hmm… I suppose you’re right,” Moominmamma sighs. “Snufkin, right? Would you mind if I took your coat for a moment, I could wash it for you and patch it up if you’ll let me.”

 

Snufkin seems to ponder this, taking one last look at his tattered coat. He audibly sighs and unbuttons the back of his coat. He slides it off and holds it out to Moominmamma, revealing the once white undershirt he had on. It was also dirtied and more noticeably covered in grass stains but was certainly in better condition than the coat was. He was most surprised to see that it was visible as well.

 

“Thank you, dear. You and Moomintroll should go join the others at the table now while I get started on this, I made some fresh jam today,” Moominmamma said as she folded the coat over her arms. “Thank you for coming over Mrs. Fillyjonk but I must tend to this coat now.”

 

“Oh, I understand, Moominmamma!” Fillyjonk exclaimed, already heading out of the door, “that poor coat needs immediate help, I shall not get in the way!”

 

“Goodbye, Mrs. Fillyjonk,” Moominmamma says as the door closes behind her.

 

“Sorry about her,” Moomin says to Snufkin as they walk to the kitchen, “she’s awfully tedious about cleanliness.”

 

Snufkin simply shakes his head as the two take a seat at the table next to one another. They jump into the conversation around the table that’s started without them, Snorkmaiden talking about her brother’s latest project, Sniff talking about his next treasure hunting plan for their next beach trip, and Moominpappa talking about his latest chapter that he’s written without spoiling  _ everything _ about it. Moominmamma joins them for lunch shortly after and listens to their conversation and playful banter. Moomin tries to be more engaging but he keeps glancing over at Snufkin’s plate, worried that he’s not taking nearly as much as he should be taking. Moomin wishes he could convince him to eat more but he worries that he’d just embarrass Snufkin by bringing it to everyone’s attention. Eventually, they all finish emptying their plates. Everyone at the table helps with kitchen clean-up before bidding Moomin’s parents farewell.

 

“I’ll try and have your coat finished before the end of the day, dear,” Moominmamma tells Snufkin.

 

Snufkin bows his head as a silent thank you.

 

“I wish you four the best of luck, perhaps you should ask Mr. Hemulen about this, he certainly knows a lot about things,” Moominmamma suggests.

 

“That sounds like a fantastic idea, thank you, mamma!” Moomin exclaims.

 

“You all go have your fun now, I’ll check through my study to see if I can find anything in my books,” Moominpappa says.

 

“Thank you, pappa,” Moomin thanks.

 

The four leave the house after waving goodbye to Moomin’s parents, who are wishing them good luck as they leave the door.

 

“I wonder what could ever turn someone invisible,” Moominmamma sighs, “you don’t think it’s a curse, do you?”

 

“It could be, perhaps an illness even,” Moominpappa theorizes, “did you ever figure out what we’re listening for, dear?”

 

“No, I’m afraid  _ I _ don’t know what to listen for but it seems as though Moomin has already been figuring it out.”

 

Moominpappa sighs, “I’m afraid that Moomin doesn’t know what we’re listening for either.”

 

“Maybe he doesn’t know what he’s listening to, but I think he’s been listening to it anyways. After all, we’re already seeing Snufkin’s clothes fade back into reality.”

 

With that Moominmamma looks back over to the green coat she had flung over the back of a chair, looking over the holes and tatters that litter it. It was definitely going to be quite the project, especially since some of the holes seemed beyond prepared. However, Moominmamma has already set her heart to patching it up and making sure it returns to a repaired state. It was just going to take a little work is all.


	4. When You Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The friends take a break to go fruit picking! Too bad things don't end so well.
> 
> Title is from "By Your Side" by Mellah.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING! This story contains WASPS in the latter half of the chapter. You can read the chapter up to the trigger warning then scroll to the bottom for a short summary in the chapter notes if you need to.

The forest always seems calmest in the afternoon, especially on a cold spring day like this. The ground is littered with dots of sunlight shining through the trees and there’s a soft breeze floating past. The forest is quiet, save for the occasional bird chirp and the idle chatter between Moomin and his friends as they make their way down a forest path. 

 

“Wait, stop for a second,” Sniff says, holding his arm out to stop everyone else in their tracks.

 

“What is it?” Moomin asks.

 

“Do you smell that?” Sniff asks, sniffing the air.

 

“I don’t smell anything,” Snorkmaiden says, sniffing the air herself.

 

“That’s because my nose works better than your guys’ noses,” Sniff says, turning his head towards the mystery smell.

 

“Well, do you know what the smell is, yet?” Snorkmaiden asks.

 

“What? Oh, yes! Well- Kind of,” Sniff answers, “I think we’re near a fruit tree, apples maybe.”

 

“Oh, I love apples!” Snorkmaiden says, “wouldn’t it be lovely to pick some for later? I’m sure Moominmamma has some good recipes for apples.”

 

“Oh, I can assure you she does,” Moomin confirms before turning to face Snufkin, “do you like fruit picking?”

 

Two claps.

 

“Then why don’t we go pick some fruit?” Moomin suggests, facing the rest of the group now.

 

“I’m on board! I’m sure I might be able to sell some freshly picked fruit for a fortune!” Sniff says, already leading the way.

 

The group proceeds to make their way through the forest, following the lead of Sniff’s nose. On their way, they talk about things they could do with the fruit. Sniff, of course, still plans on selling some but says he wouldn’t mind keeping a few to eat. Moomin tells his friends about some of Moominmamma’s recipes that involve apples, the pie being his favourite.

 

“Oh, here’s the tree!” Sniff interrupts, pointing to an apple tree just a short distance away from them, “I knew it was apples!”

 

“Ah, it’s certainly tall. Maybe we should’ve gone back for a ladder first,” Snorkmaiden comments. Snufkin’s hat nods along to her words.

 

“I bet I could climb it rather easily,” Moomin guesses, “the branches don’t seem too high up, just gotta get my grip on one.”

 

“Only one way to find out then!” Sniff says as they reach the trunk of the tree and he holds his arms out to it while looking to Moomin, “after you.”

 

Moomin looks over the tree for a bit, examining his options. Luckily, he notices a bump in the tree’s trunk just beneath one of the lower branches. All he has to do is step up onto the bump and grab onto that branch to help him get up. Moomin starts to do just that, propping his foot on the trunk, resting his free paw on the tree for balance, and pushing up towards the branch. Unfortunately, instead of gripping the branch his fingers merely graze the underside of it.

 

“So close,” Moomin mumbles aloud.

 

“Are you sure you’ve got this?” Snorkmaiden asks.

 

“Yes, yes, I just need to jump up a little higher,” Moomin reassures.

 

He tries it again, trying to push himself up onto his tiptoes. This time his paw pinches the branch before slipping back down. Moomin decides to be riskier this time jumps up slightly from the bump in the tree, hoping to catch the branch before falling backwards. In a brief moment of success Moomin’s paw wraps around the branch. However, things fail when Moomin isn’t quick enough to reach his other paw up before his paw on the branch slides off. Snorkmaiden gasps as they all watch Moomin slip.

 

Suddenly, just before Moomin falls onto his side something pushes him up just in time, helping him to land safely on his feet. As Moomin balances on his feet, he looks beside him to see a green hat near his face and an undershirt just beneath it. He also notices the feeling of paws on his arms.

 

“Oh, thank you, Snufkin,” Moomin says nervously, embarrassed he needed to be saved like that.

 

“That could’ve been a dangerous fall if our ghost friend didn’t save you!” Sniff warns.

 

“He’s not a ghost, Sniff,” Moomin sighs.

 

“Maybe we should leave these apples for tomorrow and remember to bring a ladder? It seems too dangerous to just climb it,” Snorkmaiden offers.

 

They hear a single clap from Snufkin, his hat twisting side to side as he shakes his unseen head.

 

“Oh really? Are you going to try climbing it?” Moomin asks.

 

Another single clap. Before Moomin can ask what his plan is Snufkin is gently grabbing Moomin’s paw and leading him back over to the tree. When the two are closer to the tree’s base. Snufkin kneels down and taps on Moomin’s foot before slowly lifting it up. Snufkin’s hat tilts up as he looks at Moomin’s perplexed face, waiting for him to understand the gesture.

 

“Oh!” Moomin exclaims upon realization, “a boost! Brilliant idea, Snufkin!”

 

“Is that what’s happening?” Snorkmaiden asks, “I should probably stand behind Moomin in case he falls backwards or something.”

 

Snufkin nods, getting ready to lift Moomin up as Snorkmaiden makes her way over.

 

“Okay, count of three,” Moomin warns, “one… two… three!”

 

Snufkin pushes his paws up just as Moomin straightens his leg out. With this new height Moomin easily latches both of his paws onto the branch, briefly hanging off of the branch to make sure his grip is good. After a second or two Moomin readjusts his grip so he faces the trunk of the tree and walks his legs up the tree, wrapping them around the branch. Finally, using his strength, he twists himself around until he’s sitting upright on the branch.

 

“Bravo, Moomintroll!” Sniff applauds, “do you see any good apples up there?”

 

“Oh, yes!” Moomin yells back, scanning his eyes around the tree’s branches, “plenty of good ones up here, I’ll toss some down!”

 

“Make sure you’ve got good aim,” Snorkmaiden cautions, standing closer to the tree.

 

“Will do!” Moomin calls back as he starts crawling up the branches to some particularly ripe apples.

 

“Do we have anything to carry them with?” Sniff asks, “I was hoping we’d get some extra to sell.”

 

“No, I don’t think we have anything,” Moomin says, plucking an apple off a branch.

 

Snufkin takes his hat off and holds it upside down before tapping on Sniff’s arm to grab his attention. Sniff just looks at Snufkin with a confused look on his face.

 

“Yes? What is it about your hat?” Sniff asks.

 

“I think he’s letting us use it to hold the apples,” Moomin suggests, tossing the apple down into Snorkmaiden’s open paws.

 

Snufkin claps twice to confirm Moomin’s words.

 

“Oh! Thank you Snufkin!” Sniff cheers.

 

“This should hold a nice amount of apples, thank you Snufkin,” Snorkmaiden says as she drops one into the hat.

 

The group continues one for a while with picking apples, repeating the cycle of Moomin tossing an apple or two into their paws. Every now and then someone will hold onto an apple of their own and bite down on it, enjoying the lovely snack. As Moomin picks more apples he finds himself crawling across branches to get to the next ripe apple, almost like he’s going around the tree.

 

**{Trigger warning for Wasps starts here}**

 

Eventually, something odd catches Moomin’s interest. He notices something hanging off the tree that wasn’t as red as an apple and certainly bigger than one. However, Moomin had trouble making out what it was considering it was hidden behind the leaves on the tee.  
  
“Oh, I see something up here!” Moomin yells down, “can any of you make out what it is from down there?”

 

Moomin’s friends bring their attention to where Moomin is pointing his finger.

 

“I don’t see anything,” Sniff says.

 

“I do but I can’t tell what it is,” Snorkmaiden says,

 

“What about you, Snufkin?” Moomin asks.

 

Snufkin stomps his foot once, his hands too occupied holding the hat of apples to clap.

 

“Maybe you should see what it is?” Sniff asks, “maybe it’s a new kind of apple! We could make a fortune discovering something like that!”

 

“Okay then, I’ll see if I can get closer to it!” Moomin exclaims, already climbing along branches to get to it.

 

“Do be careful, Moomintroll,” Snorkmaiden cautions, “it’s near the edges of the branches, one of them could snap if you go too far out.”

 

“I’ll be careful, no need to worry.”

 

Moomin carefully stands up on the branch he was on and holds onto the branches above him for balance. Slowly, he shuffles his way closer to the mystery object, barely noticing the buzzing noise that gets closer as he approaches it. When Moomin finally gets close enough he notices that the buzzing sound wasn’t just his imagination and that he was looking right a wasp’s nest, hanging off of the branch he stood on.

 

“What is it?” Sniff calls up, “can you see it yet”

 

“It’s just a vespiary,” Moomin calls back with a soft tone, not wanting to alarm the wasps residing there, “rather big one, too.”

 

“Better not stay up there any longer unless you like getting stung,” Snorkmaiden advises, “besides, I think we’ve got plenty of apples, we should be taking them back to your place now.”

 

Snufkin stomps his foot twice, agreeing with Snorkmaiden’s suggestion.

 

“Alright! I’ll be right down!”

 

Moomin starts making his way lower in the tree, stepping on a branch below and grabbing onto the branch he was just standing on. Before Moomin can carry however a sickening crack sounds from the tree, tightening Moomin’s grip on the branch in a panicked response.

 

“Oh Groke…” Moomin mumbles.

 

As if on cue the branch beneath Moomin’s feet gives way, snapping off the tree and leaving Moomin without any footing. Moomin lets out a startled scream but his grip on the branch above him stays locked, leaving him hanging off of the branch rather than falling down to the ground. The shaking of the branch alarms the wasps momentarily because they lived on the branch Moomin just shook trying to hang off of it suddenly. Thankfully, to Moomin’s relief, the wasps quickly calm down when they don’t notice any impending danger.

 

“Are you okay!?” Sniff calls up, worry in his voice.

 

“Yes, yes, I’m fine,” Moomin calls down, “we’re lucky that wasn’t the branch with the nest on it.”

 

“Do you need help getting down from there?” Snorkmaiden asks.

 

“I don’t know, let me see if I can…”

 

Before Moomin can finish his sentence, another loud crack is heard accompanied by the tilt of the branch Moomin is hanging off of. Moomin looks to his side to see the source of the noise only to feel his stomach drop when he notices this branch is falling off, too.

 

Snufkin hurriedly shoves the hat full of apples towards Sniff, who takes hold of them in response. After Sniff has a good grip on the hat Snufkin tugs at Snorkmaiden’s arm insisting she follows him. Confused, Snorkmaiden obliges and follows Snufkin’s lead to beneath Moomin.

 

“Okay, Moomintroll, I think we’re going to catch you,” Snorkmaiden glances over to Snufkin, “right?”

 

Two claps.

 

“Yes, right. Let go on the count of three, okay?”

 

“Okay!” Moomin calls back.

 

The branch cracks again and tilts the branch down further. The wasps are buzzing loudly again confused as to why the branch is lowering them.

 

“Three… two… one!”

 

Moomin lets go of the branch to drop down towards Snorkmaiden and Snufkin. Just before Moomin hits the ground there are two sets of hands cushioning his fall. His two friends help him back up onto his feet.

 

“There, are you hurt?” Snorkmaiden asks.

 

“No, I’m fine. Thanks to you two.”

 

“Don’t mention it, let’s just get out of here before that branch falls. Those hornets won’t be so happy about that.”

 

As Snorkmaiden walks back over to Sniff, Snufkin pats Moomin’s shoulder as a silent  _ you’re welcome  _ before joining the others. Moomin follows his lead, hand on his shoulder, blushing slightly. Moomin assumes he’s just embarrassed that he needed to be saved from falling twice today.

 

Just before Sniff can welcome Moomin back to the ground they all hear another cracking sound, followed by the noise of angry buzzing and something landing heavily on the ground. Looking behind them they all see that there are now two branches on the ground as well as a broken nest of some now very angry wasps. They all fly out from their destroyed home, desperately looking for the danger that wrecked their residence. Moomin’s heart speeds-up as more and more wasps seem to put their attention on them. It’s obvious who the wasps are putting their blame on.

 

“Run!” Moomin shouts.

 

The four friends immediately start to book it away from the swarm in opposite directions, too panicked to bother staying together. This causes the wasps to also split up in order to track down their new enemies.

 

Snufkin finds himself running through the forest on his own, ducking beneath low branches and stepping over bushes in a hurry. However, his twisted ankle refuses to keep up with is adrenaline and Snufkin suddenly finds himself on the ground with a sharp, intense pain running through his leg.

 

He covers his face with his hands and closes his eyes as the wasps tracking him down fly right over his head. He opens his eyes and looks up to see that the wasps completely missed him. One of the perks of being invisible probably. Speaking of which, Snufkin looks down to see that his trousers and undershirt weren’t visible anymore. Snufkin can’t tell if it was the fear of the insects or his leg giving way that made him completely invisible again but he knew that it was a bad sign.

 

When the buzz of small wings becomes too distant to hear anymore Snufkin knows that’s his cue to get up and find his way back to Moomin and the others. He gets himself up into a sitting position, scooting over to lean against a nearby log. It isn’t hard to tell that the deafening pain in Snufkin’s leg means that his ankle got twisted again, probably worse this time. Such a shame, too, considering it was almost healed.

 

The first time it took days before Snufkin could properly walk, and even then he was still limping. How long would it take this time?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary for whoever stopped reading after the trigger warning: Moomin found a wasp's nest in the tree. He gets out of the tree, needing to be caught by Snorkmaiden and Snufkin, just as the branch with the wasps falls. They are chased away by wasps and split up, Snufkin getting separated from everyone else. Snufkin falls and twists his ankle again, making it worse, but successfully avoids getting stung. Snufkin goes completely invisible again and can't move because of the pain, leaving him stranded in the forest.
> 
> I'm sorry this update took so long! Kinda kept writing myself into corners trying to get this chapter done haha. Thank you to everyone on Discord who helped me brainstorm and get out of those corners, probably would've never finished it without y'all! Also yes I know that a wasp swarm probably could've caught up to them within seconds but in my defense, I didn't want to write "the gang gets stung a million times." So let's just say Moomin and Co. have a fair chance winning a race against wasps or something.

**Author's Note:**

> Please come yell at me in the comments or @ my Tumblr: https://lilystar244.tumblr.com/


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